By: Dutton (Senate Sponsor - Uresti) H.C.R. No. 81
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 22, 2009;
May 1, 2009, read first time and referred to Committee on
Administration; May 22, 2009, reported favorably by the following
vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 22, 2009, sent to printer.)
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The African Americans who served in the Texas
Legislature between 1868 and 1900 and in the Constitutional
Conventions of 1868-1869 and 1875 represent a significant part of
the state's history, and it is vital that we honor their important
legacy; and
WHEREAS, Following emancipation in June 1865, Black Codes
were passed by several cities in Texas to restrict the rights of
African Americans; it was not until 1867, with the intervention of
Congress and the U.S. military, that African Americans began the
transition to freedom in earnest; and
WHEREAS, Numerous African American men went on to become
Reconstruction leaders and important members of the Republican
Party; African American delegates to the Constitutional Convention
of 1868-1869 included Stephen Curtis, Wiley W. Johnson, Ralph Long,
James McWashington, and Benjamin O. Watrous, and these individuals
played an active role in committees and in presenting significant
resolutions; the Constitutional Convention of 1875, organized by
the Democrats to undo the Constitution of 1869, had fewer African
American delegates but still involved Bird Davis, Melvin Goddin,
Lloyd Henry McCabe, and William Reynolds, among others; and
WHEREAS, George Thompson Ruby, a leading delegate to the
Constitutional Convention of 1868-1869, went on to become one of
the most influential senators in the 12th and 13th Legislatures;
Matthew Gaines and Walter E. Ripton also served as senators during
the 1870s, and Senator Walter Moses Burton represented parts of
Southeast Texas for nearly a decade; and
WHEREAS, Many other African American men were elected as
state representatives; among them were David Abner, Sr., Richard
Allen, Edward Anderson, Alexander Asberry, Houston A. P. Bassett,
Thomas Beck, Edward Brown, D. W. Burley, Silas Cotton, Goldstein
Dupree, Robert J. Evans, Jacob E. Freeman, Harriel G. Geiger,
Bedford A. Guy, Nathan H. Haller, Jeremiah J. Hamilton, William H.
Holland, Mitchell Kendall, Robert A. Kerr, Doc C. Lewis, Elias
Mayes, David Medlock, John Mitchell, Henry Moore, Robert J. Moore,
Sheppard Mullens, Edward Patton, Henry Phelps, Meshack R. Roberts,
Alonzo Sledge, Robert Lloyd Smith, Henry Sneed, James H. Stewart,
James H. Washington, Allen W. Wilder, Benjamin Franklin Williams,
Richard Williams, and George W. Wyatt; and
WHEREAS, These dedicated public servants made great strides
in education for African Americans, and they advocated tirelessly
for civil rights; by the late 1870s, however, their gains in the
political arena were threatened by a new wave of racial
intolerance; the 25th Legislature in 1897 would be the last that
included an African American member for seven decades; and
WHEREAS, A framed composite in honor of the state's early
African American political leaders hangs in the Capitol South
Lobby, but the photographs of several individuals are missing, and
thus our tribute to them remains incomplete; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby direct the State Preservation Board to initiate an effort to
obtain missing photographs of early African American political
leaders who are honored in a composite in the Capitol South Lobby;
and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the State Preservation Board be directed to
ensure that the composite is included on Capitol tours; and, be it
further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
forwarded to the executive director of the State Preservation Board
as an expression of the sentiment of the Texas Legislature.
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